Hey everyone,

I've been visiting this forum very frequently and have been putting off registering for a while now. I recently acquired an Acura CLS 6 speed. The nature of my work has me explicitly familiar with BMWs and a couple BMW owners as well. Although I know how powerful BMWs are and how cheap I could get spare parts, I also know how hard they are to modify and how heavy they could be. Also, any small issue like throwing codes could be costly! So I decided to try something new and get an Acura. I got this car with a completely smashed front end and fixed it up. It has 80k miles which is great. I look forward to being a part of Acurazine (and suping up my car too!). Still freshening up on my stick driving capabilities, but 1 more week and I think I'll have it down.

So far, I put in a double din, ordered a switchblade key, and put in an icebox. Next move would probably be getting some light weight rims (preferably OEM but not necessarily) just to make the car grip the ground better. Also, looking to get some CT headers. From the reading I've been doing, seems like you guys like to prevent future damage by replacing old parts with better aftermarket stuff. I'm down with that, just don't know whats good or bad. I know I'm going to need things like axles, engine mounts, and a sway bar. Where and what do you recommend?

What I found strange about this car was the mad horsepower it has. Another was how the gears were so close to each other. It kind of reminded me of the M3. The clutch was also a bit weird. If you don't give it gas, it'll start jumping around. I'm used to BMWs and they just drive themselves practically if you ease off the clutch slowly. I guess that's not the case for Acuras!


Some pics of the car before it was fixed up. It was pretty bad. I will update with some new ones soon.

 

Welcome. For used parts look here on BM, u may find something what you are looking for

https://acurazine.com/forums/marketplace/parts/search/


Its weird about what you said about clutch... Mine is silky smooth and i love it. And yeah this car is fun to drive and has some balls too. Enjoy it but before you open a thread with question please search is ur best friend.

 

Welcome,
You must a got it for a steal being smashed like that.
What did you pay ?
Glad to see one that did not make it to the crusher.

Weird placement of the trunk emblem.

 

Welcome. Unfortunately, there are no lightweight OEM Acura wheels. Other brands will fit though. RX8 wheels are relatively light, as are Nissan Altima SE-R wheels (18lbs each). Our OEM wheels are ~25lbs. I have a set of the SE-R wheels Im looking to get rid of, in case you are interested.

Also, the switchblade key, while it can be milled to fit our key cylinders, the remote portion will not work. Unless you got one of those eBay switchblades.

Im not sure what you mean about the car jumping around when you are off the gas.

As far as mounts go, stay away from the Innovative mounts. Verdict is still out on the XLR8 mounts. Ive had mine in the car for all of 6k miles and the front and rear is already shot. I have to contact Excelerate for new bushings. The longest lasting mounts Ive had were poly-filled OEM mounts. I could usually get about 30k out of a set.

For axles, if you dont plan on really beating on it, OEM, AutoZone, or Advance axles are fine. If you plan on bumping power, Ill be starting a group buy for Drive Shaft Shop level 2.9 axles in a few weeks.

Regarding sway bars - I love the Progress Suspension rear sway bar.

 

yea progress rsb on soft setting tho... i had mine set on hard and it ripped out the mounting brackets 4 frigging times... each 2 times... when i replaced the broken one the other side would be more fragile and then rip out, 20$ part, no wonder it's weaksauce

 

Mine has yet to rip out, but Im running a stiffer suspension so it probably compensates for it.

 

Elaborate on your jerky shifts. I am also experience this issue with my new CLS6. I assumed it was normal.

 

FML...I JUST replaced the freaking windshield 10 days ago. What are the chances of getting a freaking rock chip? I've been driving for 4 years and I've never had one. This sucks big ones.

Thanks for the info civic! It really depends on the price of the axles if I'm going to get some. I got my key from eBay. I'll be going to the local key cutter soon. I'm going to search up some more on the wheels before I come to a decision.

Got it for around $2200. What'd you mean by the weird trunk emblem?

It jerks around when you put it in gear and ease off the clutch. You have to give it gas before you ease off or it just jumps up and down. It only happens on the first 3 gears. I was thinking it was due to my rusty driving skills, but my buddy (that has driven manual cars all his life) took my ride for a spin and suggested that the clutch was aftermarket. I think his judgment was influenced by the fact that he's never driven anything other than a BMW. I might be wrong though.

 

The 3.2CL Type S emblem is mounted below the body line when it should be mounted at the top right of the trunk lid.

 

Checking posts around the site and one post got me thinking of changing my pulleys (since I already got an icebox). I'd like to get my car preforming better. From what I'm reading, seams like excelrate is the way to go. Anyone 2 that?

 

Lightweight crank pulley Im assuming?

Im running the Option Racing pulley and have been for about 60k miles. They can be had for a fraction of the price of the UR pulleys. The only downside is Option Racing only makes an underdrive pulley while UR makes both underdrive and stock size - the latter being for those that have a stereo.

 

How much did you pay for the icebox? best price i have seen is like $260?

 

Yeah..it was $300 shipped.

Another thing that worries me is that I replaced the front end with one off of an 01 CL base model, so I'm thinking the condenser and radiator might not be the same. Could it be bad for the car?

 

those should be the same on both the cl-p and cl-s i believe

 

I went on the website and they don't have any sway bars for a CL. What's up wit it?

 

This clutch is hard to learn at first, that is whats causing jerky shifting

 

You need the bar off a 3G TL, part number 62.0110

 

Is it a direct fitment or is there something to it?

 

Direct fit. It comes with new bushings and brackets. I highly suggest you get Moog end links as well. Youll most likely have to cut off the OEM end links as the way they fasten is horrendous.

 

dont forget the front sway bar as well it's really helpfull. i definitely noticed adding that on as well.

 

Ordered and it's on the way..thanks for the tip. Trying to get the option pulley but the damn website is acting up.

 

Did you put that front torque damper back on the motor when you fixed it? I just did a 6mt swap and didn't put either of the dampers on the front or back and my car does the same thing..bouncing/hard jerking in lower gears.. Thinking thats what it'd be sorry to threadjack but someone chime in for both our sake lol

 

It wasn't me that worked on the car. I will check it though.

 

Radiator will fit, you just need the base radiator support for it too as well as the fans. But it's best to have the Type-S if you can since the radiator capacity is larger. I have a base radiator on my car (front end was rebuilt) and I have no cooling problems. Let me know if you need a passenger fan for the radiator, minus the motor. I have a spare one but it's not OEM.

 

Appreciate the candor, but I made sure to get one. Got the AC flushed and charged and made sure everything was tip top.